Music Box Sonata: By Timothy Hobbs

 

When I find a book I love, I want to share it with everyone. I want everyone to love it as much as I do and I want to talk endlessly about it. Music Box Sonata is one of these books. I was drawn in from page one and held captive until the very end. Timothy Hobbs, the author, is a master story teller and he did what so many authors these days fail to do... he took me into the story and opened up a new world for me. While I was reading Music Box Sonata, everything else disappeared.

 

Recently I sat down with Timothy and asked him about the book.

 

ME: Tell us about Music Box Sonata.

 

Timothy: Music Box Sonata is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I did some research on the Fairy Tale to find out exactly why the Beast was cursed. I read where a King and Queen had this son who was cared for by a nanny. When the King went off to war, the nanny tried unsucessfully to seduce the son. Because of her rejection, the nanny put a curse on the son to be a Beast forever.
I modeled the physical appearance of the Beast after a 1980's Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie based on the fairy tale. George C. Scott played the Beast and actually looked more like a boar with his snout and curling tusks.

 

ME: This is a very creepy story that goes back and forth in time. The ending… which I don’t want to give away… was very disturbing with a wonderful ick quality to it. I’m just wondering, are you planning a sequel?

 

Timothy: I did not write a sequal to Music Box Sonata . I did another fairy tale variation. This one was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty of the Woods entitled Maiden Fair. It is the third in a series entitled Once Upon a Time in Texas as all of the books - The Smell of Ginger, Music Box Sonata, and Maiden Fair - are set in Texas.
Maiden Fair was published by Netherworld books in January of this year.

 

ME: Sounds interesting. I haven't read it yet, but it is on my TBR list. You also have another book, the Pumpkin Seed. I've read it and loved it. Care to talk a little about Pumpkin Seed?

 

Timothy: I wrote the first draft for the Pumpkin Seed in 1995. I put it away until I started editing the book in 2006. The story line follows journals that tell the tale. It begins in India in the late 17th century then moves to England in the 18th century and reaches its end in Austin, Texas in 1995. The journals move back and forth in time just like Music Box Sonata. The plot involves vampire-like creatures whose condition stems from a viral infection that physically alters their body. They not only drink blood, they are flesh eaters as well.

 

I think that's one of the things I found most disturbing about the book, their appetites. Plus, there is a delicasy that these vampires really loved and it quite honestly turned my stomach... which is a good thing. Too many times horror doesn't seem horrifying. You certainly have an imagination that I think is rare.

 

Thank you, Timothy for stopping by.

 

If you would like to read Music Box Sonata, you can find it on Amazon, along with The Pumpkin Seed and The Smell of Ginger. Warning: This is real horror. Not for the faint of heart.
 

 

                          

Timothy C. Hobbs (1950 - ) was born in Temple, Texas. His older brother was a lover of horror movies and literature. Tim naturally followed his brother's lead and was seduced by all things that go bump in the night. Tim started writing horror stories in the sixth grade and has never stopped since. 

 

Tim is retired from the Veteran's Administration Hospital and currently resides in Robinson, Texas with his wife Donna Walker-Nixon, who is also a published author.

Timothy C. Hobbs (1950 - ) was born in Temple, Texas. His older brother was a lover of horror movies and literature. Tim naturally followed his brother's lead and was seduced by all things that go bump in the night. Tim started writing horror stories in the sixth grade and has never stopped since. Tim has published two novels - Veils, and The Pumpkin Seed; one novella - The Smell of Ginger; and a collection of short stories - Mothertrucker and Other Stories. Two more novels - Music Box Sonata, and Maiden Fair are currently being prepared for future publication.
Tim is retired from the Veteran's Administration Hospital and currently resides in Robinson, Texas with his wife Donna Walker-Nixon, who is also a published author.

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55 Word Challenge: Week 54

 

Welcome back to #55WordChallenge!

 

For those that are uninitiated, the 55 Word Challenge is a contest to write a story in 55 words or less. Not an easy task, but fun and I have been blown away by some of the entries. See for yourself, past contests can be found here. The challenge begins at noon Eastern time every Wednesday and ends at noon Thursday. The story is based on one of three photo prompts. My only request is no porn. I don't want to hear graphic details. If it is erotic, make it titillating, not obscene. I know that can be done and done well.

The story is to be posted in the comment section below, along with your twitter handle or email address, so I can contact you if you are the winner. If you don't want to list your email address, send it to me at jezri@writing.com. I promise I won't distribute it, but if you are the winner I need a way to notify you and to send you your prize. I am also going to be bringing back the #55WordChallenge Bumper Sticker.

It will take a few weeks for them to be delivered to me, but this will again be a monthly prize. I expect to begin awarding them at the end of May.

And what does the winner get? This badge, for one. As mentioned above, I will be awarding the Jezri's Nightmares Bumper Sticker again, beginning the end of May. And of course there are bragging rights. :) I know, right?

If anyone is interested in contributing a prize, a book, cover art, whatever you want, let me know and we will work something out. If you are an artist that would like to have your work featured, let me know!

Photo Prompt:

Let the fun begin!

Some Things Are Meant To Be

This is written for Anna Meade and the Dark Fairy Queen Writerly Bridal Shower. Congratulations Anna! I wish you and your future husband all the best.

 

 

Some Things Are Meant To Be

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

Ruth stared into Norman’s eyes, her knees buckling at the love she saw there. It had been a long road for them. On more than one occasion she despaired they would never marry. But now here they stood, in front of friends and family, ready to commit their lives to each other. Her father had even walked her down the aisle. Ruth had never thought that would happen, not after the explosive reaction he’d had when Norman first asked for her hand in marriage.

“Over my dead body,”  Her father yelled, chasing Norman off their property, with the aid of his shotgun and a generous helping of rock salt.

“Daddy! He’ll never come back now.”

“That’s the idea.”

“Harold,” her mother interjected, “our daughter is in love. Remember how my father felt about you?”

“Yeah. He chased me off with buckshot, that rat’s lucky I only used rock salt.”

Ruth fell at her father’s knees.  “He wants to marry me, daddy. Please give your blessing. Otherwise, I’ll run away and we’ll get married without your say so.”

Harold brushed her off and Ruth ran to her room, tears filling her eyes. Huddling on her bed, she listened to her parent’s argue.

“She’s nearly twenty-one, what are you going to do, keep her locked up for the rest of her life?”

“If I have too.”

“Harold…”

“You seem to forget, Carol, Norman aint right in the head. Just because he’s the only one courting our daughter at the moment…”

“He wasn’t the only one, until you drove off all the others. Don’t do this, Harold. He can protect her. He’s good with that arrow and you know it.”

“Arrow,” Harold scoffed. “The damn Walkers surround them and Ruth is a gonner.”

“Harold…” Carol’s sounded frightened, “I saw something moving outside.”

“Stand back.”

There was a loud crash. Ruth went running to the door to go help her parents, but the door was locked. She pounded on it, screaming for someone to let her out, but the only answer she got was her mother’s screams and the sound of her father’s shotgun.

***

“They might not be dead,” Anna offered. Ruth smiled at her friend. She knew the girl was only trying to help, but the facts were, if the Walkers had taken her parents, they were dead. She was grateful for Anna though. She had shown up the next morning and let Ruth out of the room. She told Ruth that most of the survivor camps had been run over. An organized attack by the Walkers.

“There he is!” Ruth pointed towards Norman, relief washing through her. “Come on, Anna.” Ruth took off for the tree line, not understanding why Norman was screaming for her to run. She was running, wasn’t she?

***

“What are you waiting for?” Ruth looked at the pastor.

“Ruth, you don’t want to do this.”

“Now you sound like Anna.” Next to her, Anna, her Maid of Honor, sniffled.

“They’re dead. This isn’t a wedding, it’s a funeral. Yours too, if you go through with this.”

“Mine too, if I go through with this,” Ruth mimicked, pointing her shotgun at the preacher. “I’ve lost everything, I’m not losing Norman too. Now get on with it.”

“Ruth, please…”

“Anna, shut up. He got bit saving you. Next time someone yells run, try running.”

She looked around, most of her friends were there except for Tanya. She’d struggled against the collar and decapitated herself. Ruth had never liked her much anyway. She’d dated Norman once.

Looking over the scenery, Ruth only saw the decorations she had painstakingly put up. Pictures she had collected over the year and stored in her hope chest were tacked to the trees. Her father moaned, pulling against the chain that kept him in place. Ruth smiled at him, tears in her eyes. She knew that he was in there somewhere, probably angry that she was defying him.

Repeating after the pastor, she said her vows, placing a ring on Norman’s finger and then again on her own.

“Until death do us part,” she said. Ruth knew later, after she unchained Norman, he would eat her, but for now they were together, as they should be.

 

Word Count: 700

Winner 55 Word Challenge: Week 53

There were only 5 entries, which made picking HM’s and winner all the more difficult. I am only choosing 2 HM’s because to do 3 would leave only one author out of the running, but I loved all of the stories.

Honorable Mentions:

@keithbwalters It wasn’t the work detail I’d have chosen either. Zombie Prison Warden. *shivers*

@PurpleQueenNL Loved this line:  They hadn’t worked out how to use boats yet, although we’d seen a few try; it was only a matter of time. *Double Shivers*

Winner:

@DavidALudwig

David nailed it with his entry, Zombie Prison.

ZOMBIE PRISON

 

I don’t know what the mayor thought I would do about it. You can’t lock zombies up on an island and think it’ll break their spirits. It only makes them hungry. The city balked at the cost of de-animating them properly.

As the doors swung open I considered whether to yell “Prison Break” or “Dinner”!

55 words

 

Okay, Keith, Miranda and David, DM your email addresses to me and I will be sending you coupons for the books you won. Also, let me know if you live outside the U.S. I will need to send you a Smashwords coupon since Amazon.com seems to have issues honoring the coupon outside the U.S.

Kayla and C.M. Stewart, I am giving you both a copy of No Zombies Allowed, so please DM your information to me as well. Thank you for entering!  I look forward to seeing you for the next challenge.

 

 Zombie's, Zombie's Everywhere

Book Review: I Left My Haunt In San Francisco

I Left My Haunt in San Francisco is the 3^rd in the Kal Hakela series and Mark Stone did not disappoint. I even learned a little history along the way, which is one of the things I love about Stone’s books. If you read the last book, What Happens In Vegas, Dies in Vegas, you know that Kal faked his death at the end of book one, so that he could avenge his sister’s death. In book 3 he is working again for the BSI, training new Green Peas, when he is called into B.B’s office. A former BSI agent and a mentor to Kal, Thomas Mace, jumped to his death in San Francisco. Suicide isn’t something the paranormal investigators would normally investigate, but there is evidence there is more there than a simple suicide. Using his own blood, Thomas wrote Kal’s name on his shirt. Kal picks his team and they leave for San Francisco.

That is when the real fun begins, from a disgruntled cop, who resents Kal to a ghost that protects San Francisco… and hates Kal. He can’t seem to catch a break in this book and his rage, which used to make him such an unbeatable force, is strangely absent. Kal needs to learn to rely on his friends to help him out, more so than usual, as they battle an enemy that seems to know what their next move will be, even before they do.

I loved this new angle. In the first two books, Kal was a force on his own. I sometimes wondered why he even needed a team. In San Francisco he has a new depth, new fears. He stands a real chance of dying and in fact comes close. There are also all the elements that I love from the first two books. His cop friend, Wilkes, is back, along with Canton and Winch, plus some new faces. I was sad that Ghost wasn’t included, but if they’d had him they may not have needed their ghostly new friend, Joshua Abraham Norton, the Emperor of San Francisco. Look him up, there is some real life history within these pages.

The ending of the book is absolutely explosive and another enemy appears, just as you think everything is all wrapped up. This is where Kal learns just how much his friends care about him. I am already looking forward to the next book. Go buy it. You won't regret it. 5 Stars!

Be sure to check out his first two in the series as well as The Judas Line, a stand alone book that is not a Kal Hakala book, but I still kept expecting him to pop up.

 

About the Author
 

Born in Helsinki, Finland (The Land of the Uncommonly Stubborn), Mark Everett Stone arrived in the U.S. at a young age and promptly dove into the world of the fantastic. Starting at age seven with theIliad and the Odyssey, he went on to consume every scrap of Norse Mythology he could get his grubby little paws on. At age thirteen he graduated to Tolkien and Heinlein, building up a book collection that soon rivaled the local public library’s.
In college Mark majored in Journalism and minored in English. The newspaper business wasn’t for him, so he did what every good writer does: find work in a wide variety of fields that included catering, bartending, and restaurant management. After getting married, he sold Hyundais (before they became popular) and, because he lives in Colorado, Subarus. Eventually he matured enough to be able to sit down and just write.

55 Word Challenge: Week 53

Welcome back to #55WordChallenge! I took a break last week and I am back and feeling refreshed. But wow... last week I felt like a zombie, unable to write, tackling things being thrown at me left and right... I felt caged. Which brings me to this weeks prompt.

ZOMBIE PRISON!

Yep, that's write, I have a zombie theme and some great pictures to go with it.

For those that are uninitiated, the 55 Word Challenge is a contest to write a story in 55 words or less. Not an easy task, but fun and I have been blown away by some of the entries. See for yourself, past contests can be found here. The challenge begins at noon Eastern time every Wednesday and ends at noon Thursday. The story is based on one of three photo prompts. My only request is no porn. I don't want to hear graphic details. If it is erotic, make it titillating, not obscene. I know that can be done and done well.

The story is to be posted in the comment section below, along with your twitter handle or email address, so I can contact you if you are the winner. If you don't want to list your email address, send it to me at jezri@writing.com. I promise I won't distribute it, but if you are the winner I need a way to notify you and to send you your prize. I am also going to be bringing back the #55WordChallenge Bumper Sticker.

It will take a few weeks for them to be delivered to me, but this will again be a monthly prize. I expect to begin awarding them at the end of May.

 

And what does the winner get? This badge for one... actually I may make a special badge for the challenge. If so, I will display it tomorrow. For 2 a copy of Undead Ahead Zombies. 3 Honorable Mentions will get a copy of The Second Wave: A Post Apocalyptic Tale.

If anyone is interested in contributing a prize, a book, cover art, whatever you want, let me know and we will work something out. If you are an artist that would like to have your work featured, let me know!

Photo Prompt:

Shameless Plug:

Zombie Reads: Available for Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.

 Check it out. Jezri's Nightmares Bumper Sticker. Anyone donating $5.00 to my indiegogo campaign will get one.

 

Taking a Break

 

If you came here looking for 55 Word Challenge, you are going to be dissapointed. It has been a grueling week. Jeff's schedule has been turned upside down, which has turned my schedule upside down. I've gotten behind on the A to Z Challenge and I'm not sure if I am going to get caught back up. My muse has been... very unmotivated. I've been working on Marked, so perhaps she just can't change gears, I don't know. Then I broke my glasses...which had been super glued together after the last break, but now are broke but good. An eye appointment tomorrow will hopefully help In the meantime,  I am going to take today off and not do anything but enjoy my family.

 

Check back next week and enoy the lovely weather. (Lovely hear anyway, despite the rain.)